10 Make-Ahead Breakfasts to Start Your Day Off Right

Do you ever feel that breakfast is the ultimate Catch-22? Without breakfast, we are not fully awake. But to prepare breakfast requires more than a dollop of alertness. Boiling water for poached eggs, hot butter for pancakes — the hazards! And the time — who has the time? And yet breakfast is a necessity. You are better for eating it. It fuels the brain and the body, and while anyone can pour milk and cereal into a bowl, you're even better off if you eat something with more substance, more staying power.

Let us help you. Bypass the morning Catch-22, and make your breakfast the night before. Here are 10 breakfasts that are especially good for making ahead of time — from homemade yogurt cups, to eggy muffins with herbs and prosciutto, to creamy steel-cut oats, made in the easiest possible way.

Here are a few personal favorites now from our archives. All of these are breakfasts we have made and enjoyed. Take a look, then please add your own favorite make-ahead breakfasts in the comments below!

DAIRY & EGGS• 1 Make Your Own Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt Cups - A simple idea, and infinitely adaptable. Layer thick yogurt with jam, nuts, granola, seeds, nut butter or fruit. Set up a week's worth in the fridge on Sunday night and just grab one on the way out the door.

• 3 "Ham and Cheese" Breakfast Casserole - A thick, hearty casserole of challah, eggs, ham, and cheese. It bakes up in the morning, and leftovers are great. Take a big wedge with you to work, wrapped in wax paper for munching on the go.

• 4 Breakfast to Go: Heidi Swanson's Cottage Cheese Muffins - These muffins straddle the gap between carbs and protein; they have a bit of flour, but they're also full of protein-rich dairy, eggs, and almond meal. You can add a bit of prosciutto for even more flavor. These really fill you up; I love making a batch and eating them for breakfast all week long.

• 10 Recipe: Quick and Homey Oatmeal Raisin Muffins - I don't know what it is about these muffins — maybe the juicy raisins, the soft oats, or the crumbly cinnamon topping — but as one commenter put it, "These muffins are way more delicious than they have a right to be." They are simple and quick, and a favorite breakfast in my house.